The Birmingham News/Linda Stelter
Scott Sartain, in chair, and Gov. Robert Bentley help raise a wall last year at the new home going up for Jamie and Shawn Burchfield, who lost their home in the April 27 tornado. (The Birmingham News/Linda Stelter)

Scott Sartain had two young children and another on the way when a water skiing accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Almost 30 years later, he has a shot at being named the "Best Dad on Wheels."

The Sylvan Springs man is one of 10 finalists this year in an annual competition staged by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to recognize a man who "defies the limitations of paralysis as a father and role model." In addition to bragging rights, the winning father will get a $500 gift card to Tilt-A-Rack, a supplier of mobility carriers, racks and ramps.

"It's really not about whether he wins or not. It's not about the prize," said Emily Sartain, who nominated her father for the award. "It's just that he knows that we think he's the best dad, whether it be on wheels, two hands, two feet -- to us, he is the best dad."

Sartain was selected as a finalist from about 40 nominations and is the only one from Alabama. The winner will be selected based entirely on online votes and will be named Monday. Votes can be cast at www.christopherreeve.org/BestDad through 10:59 p.m. Sunday, which is Father's Day.

"There are many men out there who, like Christopher Reeve, have embraced the importance of family and fatherhood in the face of great physical challenges," Peter T. Wilderotter, the foundation's president and CEO, said in a statement. The contest is designed to recognize "a father who lives with paralysis and exhibits compassion, dedication and positivity," he said.

Sartain learned this past Friday that he was nominated and had been selected as a finalist. "It surprised me," he said. "It was very touching."

Rebuilding

Sartain's nomination focuses in part on his involvement in recovery work after the April 27, 2011, tornadoes. He is a deacon at Pleasant Grove's Bethel Baptist Church, which was a staging area for supplies and volunteers after the storms.

"My dad helped the community rebuild, not with his hands but with his heart," Emily Sartain wrote. "He would stay at the church giving out supplies and helping families by saying a word of encouragement as they passed by. They would stop to say what an inspiration to see him out there helping in ways he could."

The nomination also cites Sartain's outreach to others whose lives are disrupted by injuries. "His message to them is that even though it seems like the world couldn't be any less forgiving and unfair, it does get better with time," Emily Sartain said in an email.

Neither Sartain nor her dad, though, sugarcoat the difficulties of adjusting to life as a quadriplegic. At the time of his accident, Scott Sartain had a 3-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter, and his 23-year-old wife, Donna, was pregnant with Emily. Scott Sartain well remembers the upheaval the whole family experienced.

"The first year, I would never wish that on anybody," Scott Sartain said. "My goodness, 'trying' don't even describe it. If the Good Lord hadn't been beside us, I just don't know."

But now, he counts his blessings, including that he hasn't had other major physical problems as a result of his injuries, that Donna is still by his side and that he not only has his children but two grandchildren.

"We've been through things in life, but the Good Lord's gotten us through," he said. "I have been very, very fortunate."